A Second Chance
by RiordanGirl
Summary: Ever wonder how Thalia left her home? What ever happened to Leo after the machine shop incident? What could Annabeth have been doing after Percy's disappearance? The answers lie here in this series of one-shots on the stories not put into full detail in PJO and HOO. Read and review and give me ideas!
1. Hazel's Second Chance

**Basically a little one-shot on how Hazel and Nico first met in the Underworld together. Inspired by revenge-is-sweet-98's 'How Nico and Hazel first met'. Read and Review and thanks for the inspiration, revenge-is-sweet!**

**Sorry if I'm a little rusty in writing. I'll do my best with grammar and detail, but I can't guarantee every single detail connecting it to the book. Sorry about that.**

**Enjoy please!**

* * *

No joy. Yet no sadness.

No anger. No fear.

Confusion.

Loneliness.

_Yes, yes. That would be the way to describe it._

the Fields of Asphodel was not the place for someone to seek happiness; for unless they found happiness in spirits wandering forever in eternal forgetfulness, wandering aimlessly forever in an endless golden wheat field with no memory of who they are or what they used to be, they would only find grief.

Not that Nico di Angelo was looking for happiness anyway. No. that would be in Elysium... not in the Asphodel Fields.

Nico had been the Elysium not an hour ago. In desperation he'd been searching for Bianca. Now that Death had gone missing, he'd thought about sneaking her back into life without Death or his father noticing. But Bianca had already gone. She'd been reincarnated into a second life. Nico was too late. He was now the only living child of Hades. Alone.

And so he felt no joy.

But he felt no sadness.

No anger. No fear.

Confusion, yes.

Loneliness.

But nothing else. He felt... abandoned, in a way, although he wasn't upset at his sister's choice.

And now he was here. That was why he was here. To be alone. To think. To be left to deal with his emotions by himself.

Nico had been in Asphodel many times when he wanted to isolate himself from everyone else, but today was somewhat different. Now Nico felt drawn to some source deep in the Asphodel Fields. A spirit.

That shouldn't have bothered him. The spirits of the Underworld were always calling to him; begging him to free them from eternal confusion or torture. But this one was unusual. Not like the others.

Nico di Angelo made his way through the Asphodel Fields, following the spirit through his senses. Like all the children of Hades, he had a sixth sense; not psychic, but the ability to _feel_ the dead in the back of his mind, like that nagging feeling you get when you've forgotten something. It wasn't hard to find her, even in the endless Fields of Asphodel, with his sixth sense.

The spirit was female; a young girl around Nico's own age - thirteen - with curly hazelnut hair and olive skin. She sat, with a distant glaze in her bronze eyes, under one of Asphodel's gnarled, black trees. Surprisingly, she looked as if she came from Nico's era; nineteen seventies, nineteen eighties. So she must be _legitimately_ around Nico's age.

Nico stared at the soul. She was very different, yes. He sensed she could remember her past life unlike all the other spirits wandering, chattering, aimlessly forever in Asphodel. She knew her own name. She recalled everything that had ever come to pass when she was alive. Most unusual indeed.

But what really interested him was the instant conclusion that came to him since he first looked at her.

She was a child of Pluto; Roman version of Hades.

A half-blood.

His half-sister.

Nico swallowed. He didn't have to be the only one. She was different as well as he was.

Nico set his jaw with determination. He had come down to retrieve his sister. That was exactly what he was going to do.

As he made his way towards her, she looked up at him. Her golden-brown eyes were intimidating. They intrigued Nico; they held so much wisdom.

No joy. Yet no sadness.

No anger. No fear.

Confusion.

Loneliness.

But there was also a very new emotion wandering in the girl's mind that Nico had never once, in all his experience as Hades' son, seen in the eyes of a lost soul - hope.

Nico stood in front of her, regarding her calmly. She looked him up and down, taking in his appearance. His pale complexion, his messy black hair, his scrawniness. His black clothes. His aviator jacket. His skull ring and his black Stygian iron sword hanging from his chain belt.

She was clearly unimpressed by the way he looked and the son-of-Hades aura he radiated. It was strange not to have someone cower at the sight of him and go out of their way to avoid him like he expected the girl to do. It was a nice change.

"You're different." Nico began. It felt good to talk to someone after so long alone; especially a sister. "A child of Pluto. You remember your past."

The girl nodded slowly, searching his face. "Yes. And you're alive."

His mind hesitated for a moment. Why was he doing this? What if she was nothing like Bianca? He felt as if he should just turn down the offer and retreat back into the shadows where he was safe. But he couldn't back down now. This girl must be very special if she could remember her past, and he had a chance to reach out and pull her from this place to the world above where she should belong. Yes. He wouldn't back down.

"I'm Nico di Angelo." He started again, feeling courage edge him on. "I came looking for my sister. Death had gone missing, so I thought... I thought I could bring her back and no one would notice."

Her amber eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Back to life? Is that possible?"

It was now that Death was gone. Any spirit could come and go as they wished.

"It should have been." He told her, trying to keep sadness out of his voice. "But she's gone. She chose to be reborn into a new life. I'm too late."

"I'm sorry."

Before he lost his brazenness, Nico held out a hand to the girl, who eyed in nonchalantly. She looked up at him again, a puzzled expression on her olive face.

"You're my sister too. You deserve another chance." He offered his hand again. "Come with me."

The girl's amber orbs shone. Nico could tell this is more than anything she could have ever asked for; a second chance at life, a second chance at family. Nico wanted this also, just as much as the daughter of Pluto.

The girl warily reached up with a delicate palm. Nico sensed she was afraid he was kidding her; tricking her with some kind of test. He looked at her reassuringly.

He wanted her to experience real joy.

No more sadness. No more anger. No more fear.

No confusion.

No loneliness.

Nico wanted his half-sister to lead the life Bianca never finished. But, this time, he most definitely wouldn't let her go.

The daughter of Pluto's expression dawned with trust.

Her eyes narrowed in determination.

This time, no hesitation.

His sister reached out and took his hand.

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**How was it? Good I hope? First one-shot ever. Hope it looks okay. Thanks guys! Read and review!**

**~RiordanGirl**


	2. Thalia's Escape

**One shot on how Thalia left her home. Got all the info on Wiki, so I don't own anything in here except this written story. Read and review!**

...

Lonely.

Lost.

Abandoned.

_Well, not much else that could describe me._

Nine year old Thalia Grace's pen tip hovered over the back of her left hand, just below the new words she added. Over the past few years she'd been adding more and more words that described Thalia Grace all over her arms and legs and hands... Words that her mother called her, what her schoolmates called her, what she called herself. Sometimes she didn't know what half the words meant, but she added them anyway. This was what she was. This was what she would be.

A small sound of surprise made Thalia turn in the kitchen chair she sat on. Across the carpeted floor that led to the living room was Jason, Thalia's sweet baby brother. Jason was a small, blonde kitten of a boy who just loved to jump around and get into trouble. He was short and had Thalia's color of eyes - electric blue, as she liked to call them. At the moment, little Jason was holding a big black stapler in his mouth.

Thalia jumped up. "Jason!" She called to him anxiously. "Jason, don't eat that!"

Jason acknowledged her, turning his bright blue gaze upwards, but he didn't stop gnawing on the stapler.

Thalia rushed across the room and hurried to his side, gently trying to pry in from his chubby fingers. "Let go, Jason, let go."

Too late. Jason bit down on the stapler and _crack!_ It stapled him. Right in the upper lip.

Jason blinked for a moment, sill trying to process what had just happened. Then he began to bawl. He immediately yanked the stapler out of his mouth, giving Thalia just a moment to rip it from his hands and throw it behind her.

Jason, still wailing, reached out for Thalia, and Thalia wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"That's why we don't eat staplers, Jason." She whispered in his ear. Jason's little body racked his sobs; an expectant reply.

"Let me see you," She said, gently holding his face in front of her to examine where he'd been stapled. Sure enough, there was a sliver of metal stuck in his lip, bleeding - not a whole lot, but enough to make Thalia slightly queasy. "Right."

Jason was wincing through his tears, trying to tough out the hurting as Thalia brushed her finger over the wound. "You got an owie, Jason."

Jason nodded, still crying. "Owie..." He sobbed unhappily, his voice a little slurred with the staple in his lip.

"Hold still for a second, okay?" She soothed, pinching the staple with her fingernails. "This'll only hurt for two seconds."

Jason didn't look too happy about it, but he sat still while Thalia readied to pull the staple out. In what she hoped was a very quick movement, she yanked it out of his lip.

Jason grimaced in pain and held a palm over his lip, beginning to cry again. Thalia threw the staple behind her and hugged her little brother again. "Shush, Jason, it's okay."

She thought back to the wound. _Gah... that's going to leave a scar._

Thalia caught a glance of the back of her hand again while holding Jason. It was littered with words like _useless, pitiful, disappointing, _and _outcast _in a lot of different colors of ink. Thalia sighed sadly. It wasn't herself she was particularly upset for - it was Jason. He'd have to grow up like she had in this terrible household. Thalia didn't want to imagine her little two-year-old Jason going through what she went through. It just wasn't fair.

Jason rubbed his eyes and yawned as his crying bawling subsided. Thalia couldn't resist a small chuckle. "Is Jason getting tired?"

Her brother nodded into her shoulder. _Well, of course he's tired; it's almost eleven at night._

Thalia scooped him up and held him against her chest. "Let's so take a nice long nap," She said in a high tone, trying to make her voice upbeat. "That's fun, isn't it?"

Jason, still pressing a few fingers against his hurt lip, bobbed his head once more.

Thalia felt a ghost of a smile as she exited the living room and entered the corridor. As she made her way down the long dark hallway, she thought about her mother; Ms. Grace.

Not Missus. Miss.

Oh, how Thalia hated her.

She would've left long ago because of her mother. It was because of her mother that Thalia's self-esteem depended on all the words written on her hands and legs and arms... _useless, pitiful, disappointing,_ and _outcast_; along with the new ones - _lonely_ and _lost_ and _abandoned_.

She would have left. She really would have. The only thing that kept her back, though, was Jason. Thalia loved Jason too much to leave him alone with _that_ _woman_. Thalia still didn't trust her; her stupid poufy head blond of curls, her stupid midday blue eyes, her stupid ego. And her drinking problems? Forget it. Thalia wasn't leaving Jason to endure Ms. Grace alone.

Thalia finally reached the small white entrance to Jason's tiny nursery. Thalia pushed open the splintered door and stepping inside, flicking on the light.

Jason's 'nursery' was a closet of a room with bare white walls, an empty carpeted floor with hardly any toys - _Thalia'_s childhood toys, which she'd given to him because their mother refused to spend her drinking money on Jason - and a bare bulb on the low ceiling.

Thalia carried Jason to his cheap, white metal crib and laid him down on the blankets at the bottom. She kissed his forehead.

"Night night, Jason." She cooed, rubbing his sandy blonde hair. Jason nodded, still holding his lip sorely.

As Thalia left the room, flicking off the bare bulb with the loud light switch by the door, she heard her mother from all the way across the house, throwing some kind of tantrum and yelling angrily over the phone.

If it was a phone.

...

The picnic was so unexpected, Thalia grew suspicious the minute it was mentioned.

"I just thought we'd have some bonding time," Ms. Grace had told her lightly, but Thalia could tell by the way she gripped her own hands in a knuckle-whitening grasp that it was something more. But when Ms. Grace picked up Jason, Thalia knew she couldn't stay home.

Now Thalia sat at the window seat in the back of the silver Lamborghini next to her baby brother in his car seat. Jason swung his feet happily, cooing and tapping Thalia's shoulder from time to time while Thalia rested her head on the window and stared outside, watching the cars and trees fly by in a blur. The seat belt rubbed her neck uncomfortably, but she didn't bother to reposition herself.

Jason kept rubbing at his lip, often breaking the scab and resulting in Jason wincing and tapping Thalia some more. After Jason repeated this five times, Thalia began to wish that stapler had never existed in the first place.

Finally, Ms. Grace pulled into the lot of an exquisite park even bigger than the Grace residence; which was saying something. It was vast open space filled with mostly lush green grass with patches of flowers here and there, and the occasional fir-tree. It was bordered with a low, concrete wall that rose to Thalia's knees, and it's lawns were specked with bushes shaped like various types of animals. It seemed like a pleasant park, but whatever Ms. Grace liked, Thalia hated. Therefore Thalia hated this park.

Ms. Grace peered over her shoulder at Thalia and smiled warmly - an uncharacteristic feature that Thalia instantly distrusted. "Time to set up! Get the blanket, please, Thals."

"Don't call me Thals." Thalia growled, clicking the seat belt and stepping out of their fancy car. She grabbed the picnic blanket with one arm and took Jason in the other. Ms. Grace seemed to want to protest at this, but she kept quiet, which Thalia grudgingly respected.

Thalia carried the blanket and Jason halfway into the park - far enough so that they could be away from other people, but not so far from the car that she couldn't run with Jason if her mom suddenly lashed out with her usual anger issues. Halfway would have to do.

As Ms. Grace lay out the blanket, she looked up at Thalia again, this time apologetically. "I forgot the picnic basket, Thals. Could you get it for me?"

Thalia scowled. "Don't call me Thals."

She reached for Jason, but Ms. Grace just blinked at her. "Thalia, Jason doesn't need you every second."

"Yes, he does." Thalia shot back.

"Thalia," Ms. Grace sighed. "It's not so long a walk. Nothing will happen to Jason. Just go get the basket."

Then something came over Thalia. She didn't know why she did it, or how she could have _possibly_ done it, but the next thing she knew, she was making her way toward the car. It was a little confusing for Thalia why she would decide to listen to her mother, but she didn't look back.

That was definitely the worst mistake she had ever made.

...

When Thalia had finally made it back to the picnic blanket with the basket, she realized with a jolt that her mother and Jason were gone.

Thalia immediately dropped the basket and ran. Not back to the car, but forward towards the big memorial Greek temple with the statue of Hera, Greek goddess of marriage. It should have been the last place for Thalia to look, but nowadays her mother had always shown a sort of uncharacteristic respect towards Juno and Hera. _That must be why she chose this park..._

Thalia's suspicions were confirmed when she found the woman crying on the big stone steps of the memorial, her big blond hair cascading in grungy curls down her back and over her shoulders and her big blue eyes red rimmed with the tears streaming down her face. Jason was nowhere to be seen.

"I've done it!" She wailed. "I've done it, Juno! I've repayed my debt! I've repayed my debt!"

Thalia stormed up the steps towards her mother, feeling incredulous that she ever left Jason with her in the first place.

"Where is Jason?!" She yelled at Ms. Grace, tears of her own brimming in her electric blue eyes.

Ms. Grace acknowledged her with narrowed eyes, but didn't answer, so Thalia tried again.

"Where is my little brother?!" Thalia choked. "What have you done to him?!"

"He's with Juno now!" Ms. Grace gave Thalia a crazed looked - one that was most certainly not sane. "I offered him as a sacrifice to Juno!"

Thalia stared at her, trying to decipher whether she was joking or telling the truth. The second choice was shining in her mother's eyes.

Thalia couldn't believe it.

"I offered him as a sacrifice!" Ms. Grace explained, standing shakily. "He's with Juno now!"

"You're crazy!" Thalia shouted, backing away. She choked again. "You lied to me! You said nothing would happen to Jason! I'm not... I'm out of here!"

She ran down the steps, wiping furiously at her eyes. Her so called mother didn't stop her.

...

Thalia didn't head to the car. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to live like she had for nine years. She didn't have to. Jason was gone.

_Jason was gone._ The words hurt her like a hot knife to the heart. Her poor Jason. She should have been there for him. She should have been a better sister and kept him in her sight at all times. She should've taken him with her to get the basket so that her mother wouldn't take him. Should have, should have, should have.

Thalia gazed at the smeared words on the back of her hand as she walked out of the park to nowhere in particular - the hand she had used to wipe at her eyes. The words were blurry and incoherent, but Thalia could see some of the misshapen lines form a few letters in some of the words she'd written last night; _lonely_, _lost_ and _abandoned_.

She scowled at the words. She hated them. She wished she could start life all over again and prove she was not the person everyone else thought she was.

She gazed around at her new surroundings; the high graffiti littered walls of the alleyway she stood in, the puddles in the shallow dips of the road she stood upon. It was a whole new surrounding. A whole new experience. A whole new life.

_Well,_ Thalia thought, holding her chin a little higher. _I'm running away. I'm starting over right now._

And with that encouraging thought, Thalia knelt next to a puddle in the ground and, with one last look at what she once was, she scrubbed the back of her hand clean.

**...**

**Hope it wasn't too sad. This is how the internet explained her life was like, so I wrote it down as a one shot. Hope it's okay. Read and review, guys!**

**~RiordanGirl**


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